Vegetarianism has been a bit of a thorny issue among some Buddhist traditions and more often than not, when people question the position of Buddhists with regards to vegetarianism it is dismissed as something inconsequential or even not relevant to the Buddhist practice.

But can a religion that uses Ahimsa (non-violence) as a corner stone of its practice simply ignore or brush aside the role of worsening torture and cruelty to animals caused by modern day factory farming methods? Should Buddhists turn a blind eye to this ever increasing cruelty to beings that share this world with us?